Into the Atmosphere is a short time-lapse video that at times is so sumptuous it’s as though it’s a CGI creation. In fact, it’s 12,400 photographs of the California wilderness, carefully strung together by San Diego photographer Michael Shainblum. The film covers 19 different destinations, capturing California’s stunningly diverse terrain, from the coast of La Jolla to the forests of Yosemite.

“Rather than hit all the famous landscapes you’ve seen a million times, I wanted to showcase the ambiance and the emotion of these specific places,” Shainblum said in an interview with The Creator’s Project.

The most awe-inspiring moments in the three-minute piece happen at night. Shainblum drove a few hours outside of San Diego to capture the star-studded skies. “I could literally see with my own eyes the galactic core of the Milky Way,” he says. Someone grab my suitcase. I’m going to California.